


Headache

by BeautifulSolo



Category: NU'EST, Produce 101 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, BaekMin, M/M, christmassy, there's a hogwarts in korea now nobody questions it neither should you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-20 15:17:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13149378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautifulSolo/pseuds/BeautifulSolo
Summary: Minhyun can't just go to the ball without a date - he's Head Boy!He has someone in mind to ask, but...he just can't. Because despite being Head Boy, Minhyun is also a huge awkward nerd.He needs a Christmas miracle.





	Headache

“Hwang Minhyun, we have a Transfiguration test tomorrow morning, and your useless sighing is  _ distracting _ me from my notes. Get over there and ask out your man before I do it for you!”

 

Minki was already out of his seat by the time Minhyun registered what he’d said. “Don’t you- Hey!” He reached out and grabbed the back of Minki’s robes, yanking him backwards with a  _ thud _ against the table. “You can’t just- no. Don’t you  _ dare _ .”

Minki rolled his eyes before plopping back into his seat. “And what would you do if I  _ did?  _ Would you  _ hex my pretty little face off _ , as you’re so prone to telling me you’ll do? Tsk-tsk. Not very appropriate behaviour for our beloved Head Boy, is it?”

 

Minhyun just sighed and brought his notebook closer to his face, pretending to scan over the writing on the page until Minki tired of teasing him and returned to his own notes.

“It’s not like being Head Boy is what’s stopping me from shutting you up, with  _ or _ without magic,” he ran a finger down the page, as if in thought, “it’s because for some strange reason, we’re best friends, and I love you. And you know it.”

He just  _ knew _ Minki was smirking beside him without even looking. “Oh, I know.”

 

True, the two Ravenclaws  _ had _ come to the library to study for their Transfiguration test, and Minhyun hadn’t gotten very far in the time they’d been sat there, but he couldn’t help it. Not when Kang Dongho was a few tables away with a small group of other students, working on what appeared to be a group project and smiling and laughing and being  _ so _ much more interesting than the historical escapades of Jackrabbit Jung.

 

Resting his notebook back on the table, Minhyun let himself stare a little more. Dongho had cut his hair over the Chuseok break, and it was just starting to grow out a little again. It was the perfect length like this - not so short as to be a total cueball but not so long that he’d start rivalling Moonbok. Maybe Minhyun wasn’t exactly picky about what hairstyle Dongho needed to look good.

 

(Dongho always looked good.)

 

“I can  _ hear _ how gay you’re being,” Minki sang cheerfully, tapping his pen against his own notepad and almost scribbling over his list of  _ Notable Animagi of East Asia _ . “He can probably hear it too, from all the way over there.”

 

A Legilimens, Dongho most certainly was not. But Minhyun felt a little nervous anyway. “Shut up.”

 

“I don’t see why you won’t just  _ tell _ him-”

 

“I miss Aron. Studying with Aron was so much better than this. Why did he have to graduate.” Picking up his notebook a little overzealously, Minhyun ended up smacking himself in the face with it. “Ow.”

 

“Aron was emotionally constipated,” Minki rearranged some of his notes in an imitation of doing something productive, “just like you. He enabled your awkwardness and I’m just trying to help you  _ progress _ . Why won’t you let me  _ help you _ Minhyunnie?”

 

Ugh, Minhyun hated that nickname and Minki knew  _ that _ , too. He buried himself in his notes and did his best to actually take interest in Jackrabbit Jung for a few minutes, because he was  _ definitely  _ going to be on the test and Minhyun had a reputation to uphold.

 

( _ ‘The Head Boy and Girl team have a responsibility to the rest of the school to set a good example in our studies and extracurriculars.’  _ Minhyun had the Headmaster’s words memorised by this point.

_ ‘No, you’re just a giant nerd.’  _ was Minki’s rebuttal every time. What did he know about responsibility. He wasn’t even a prefect.)

 

“...nerd.”

 

Jackrabbit Jung was suddenly the most fascinating person to ever live.

 

Minhyun managed to apply himself to his studies for at least a little while, surprisingly. With only the occasional peep over at whatever Dongho was doing on the other side of the room (judging by the books surrounding his group, they had to be working on something for Care of Magical Creatures) he read, reread, paraphrased and highlighted various anecdotes about the Auror, who had concealed his Animagus abilities and used them to capture or defeat upwards of twenty dark wizards before being found out.

 

_ Sneaky.  _ Minhyun couldn’t even be subtle around the guy he liked, apparently. He could never be an Auror.

 

(Good thing he was aiming to be a Healer.)

 

“Sorry I’m late!” Ah, the  _ real _ reason Minhyun and Minki were studying in the library instead of Ravenclaw Tower - while Minhyun could gaze longingly at Kang Dongho all afternoon, Minki had the chance to spend some more time with his Gryffindor boyfriend, Jonghyun. As if they didn’t share every single one of Minki’s N.E.W.T. classes and see each other for hours and hours every day already. Damp hair flopping over his eyes, Jonghyun practically fell into a chair with his books landing on the table with a  _ whumph _ , way more noise than necessary. “Practice overran. One of our Chasers had a dizzy moment while landing and I wanted to make sure she made it back to the dormitory safely and-”

 

“Aw, you’re such a caring captain,” Minki cooed, patting his boyfriend’s cheek affectionately before leaning in to kiss him lightly on the lips. Gross. “Don’t worry, we haven’t gotten far. Minhyun’s being gay and useless.”

Minhyun grumbled, accidentally misspelling the name of Jackrabbit Jung’s seventeenth apprehended criminal. “ _ You’re _ gay and useless.”

He shrugged. “But  _ I _ have a boyfriend. And I’m going to study with him while you pretend to read your notes and drool over Kang Dongho just like you have been all day. Come on, Jonghyunnie, I’ll quiz you~”

 

With a heavy sigh, Minhyun shifted his chair an inch or so away from the Happy Couple, and tried his best to focus on his work.

 

With lovesick whispering (and the occasional Animagus fact) immediately beside him, and Dongho’s cheerful laughter across the room, he was probably going to have to pull an all-nighter in the dorms if he wanted to actually absorb a single damn thing.

 

**~*~**

 

Honestly, Minhyun couldn’t even remember how long he’d been crushing on Dongho by this point. Possibly forever.

 

He’d been smitten since first year - by Dongho’s expression of pure excitement as he was called up to be sorted, and his embarrassed laughter when he fell off his broom in Flying lessons, and the way he genuinely complimented Minhyun’s penmanship in their very first ‘quills and parchment’ class. Every time Ravenclaw crossed paths with Hufflepuff house, Minhyun’s heart would start to race. Dongho was just so  _ nice  _ and so  _ interesting _ and Minhyun wanted to be his friend very, very badly.

 

It was difficult  _ not _ to be Dongho’s friend, at least to a degree. But whenever Minhyun learned something new about him (he was Muggleborn; his wand had a unicorn hair core that he was secretly very proud of; he read the  _ Mages’ Herald _ every single morning, from cover to cover, to try and stay up to date on the wizarding news even if he didn’t understand everything) Minhyun would be immediately overcome with the desire to know even  _ more _ .

 

They took Care of Magical Creatures classes together after third year, and seeing Dongho carefully (and often nervously) reach out to the animals, the way he seemed to naturally bond with them...it made Minhyun feel very warm.

 

Dongho had always been fascinating to Minhyun, but then puberty happened and Minhyun realised  _ very very suddenly _ that friendship probably wasn’t all he wanted after all. Dongho wasn’t just friendly and cheerful and kind - he was friendly and cheerful and kind and  _ very attractive _ and despite him remaining as such to this day, Minhyun still didn’t really know how to deal with that. So he didn’t deal with it. He threw himself into his studies and being a prefect and then Head Boy and Minki called him a repressed nerd. Which he kind of was.

 

He could still act somewhat normal around Dongho, at least. They shared several classes, so he kind of had to - freaking out around one’s crush didn’t really reflect well on the Head Boy, after all. Sometimes they would work together during classes, or wave to each other across the hall at mealtimes. It was cool. It was natural.

 

Best of all were Herbology and Defence Against the Dark Arts, which Minhyun and Dongho shared - but Minki and Jonghyun weren’t there. Were Minhyun just a little more shameless, he would stay close to Dongho in every one of those classes, be his partner for all the projects, maybe pass him notes if the teacher was getting a little boring.

But Minhyun had a bit more restraint than that. He would praise Dongho readily during practical tasks and often ask him for guidance on things he could probably already do perfectly competently by himself. A kind, encouraging Head Boy. Not just hopelessly infatuated. Nope.

  
  


His only hope was that Dongho couldn’t see through him the way Minki could.

 

**~*~**

 

“So, Minhyun. Jonghyunnie and I were talking about you in Muggle Studies today-”

“Ah, I do so love it when you and your boyfriend gossip about me in my absence.”

“-and we’ve decided that you should ask Dongho to be your date for the N.E.W.T. Ball.”

“...wait, what?”

 

“Minhyun.” Minki sighed heavily. “I got together with Jonghyun at  _ last _ year’s ball - it’s super romantic! And you’re gonna look really hot in your dress robes so there’s really no better time to win him over. Don’t you tell me he wouldn’t be interested. I know you danced with him last year.”

 

Minhyun froze, almost dropping his quill. All thoughts of his Charms essay were forgotten. 

 

“How the  _ hell _ do you know that?!” It was true, Dongho had sidled up to Minhyun while Minki and Jonghyun were out of the room (which, Minhyun later found out, was when Jonghyun had asked Minki out) and said he looked bored. Which Minhyun was. They’d danced a little - however badly - and Minhyun had held on to that memory dearly, Dongho looking ridiculously handsome in a smart suit and grinning like an idiot as they tried and failed to coordinate themselves.

 

A cheeky smirk. “Seongwoo told me.”

“Seongwoo is dead to me,” Minhyun announced a little too loudly. A few of the other students in Study Hall with them glanced over, “and if he wants any help with his Potions again, he’s not getting it from me.”

 

“I do think you should ask him, though.” Minki hissed when attention was off them again. Minhyun just wanted to write his essay but apparently that wasn’t happening. “You’ve got super fancy dress robes, haven’t you? Like, even fancier than the suit you wore last year?”

“I don’t appreciate  _ you _ calling me out for what I wore.”

“Fancy isn’t bad! I  _ love _ fancy. My point is, you’re gonna look amazing, and you should be more confident about asking him to go with you. You need a date anyway, right?”

 

Minhyun cringed. The Head Boy and Girl, with their partners, had to lead the first dance of the N.E.W.T. Ball every year. In front of literally everyone. “Yeah.”

 

“Right. So why not ask someone you actually like? What’s the worst that could happen?”

 

The worst that could happen was Minhyun being rejected, and how embarrassing would it be to be turned down as the Head Boy? Minhyun couldn’t do it. He frowned at his Charms essay.

 

“Bad things, like my essay not being done on time. Be quiet.”

“But it’s not due for another two wee-”

“ _ Essay now. _ ”

Minhyun didn’t even have his wand out, but somehow Minki knew to take him seriously, and silently returned to his own studying.

  
  


He wasn’t silent for long though, as the annoyance campaign began anew as soon as Study Hall was over.

 

“He’s so into you.” Minki teased at dinnertime, when Dongho met Minhyun’s eye from the next table and waved.

 

“You’re just as bad at dancing as each other.” He reminded Minhyun as they climbed the stairs to Ravenclaw Tower.

 

“You know when you see him in his fancy robes you’ll want him all to yourself.” An exasperated sigh while they got ready for bed.

 

As Minki settled into his bed, his overfed and ludicrously fluffy Puffskein already snoozing on his lap, he poked his tongue out at Minhyun. “Just so you know, I’m gonna bother you about this every single day until you ask him.”

  
  


And indeed, Minki proceeded to bother Minhyun about it. Every. Single. Day.

 

There were paper aeroplanes thrown at him in classes, pokes and prods all the way through mealtimes, and at one point Minki even tried to use Germanotta the Puffskein against him.

( _ “Look into her eyes and tell her you won’t do it!” _ Minki had huffed, and when Minhyun did exactly that he stormed off muttering something about the Head Boy being a  _ hopeless case  _ and  _ romantic as a god damn troll _ .)

 

When that didn’t work, even Jonghyun got involved.

 

“You’re just doing this because Minki told you to.” Minhyun grumbled when Jonghyun was in the middle of a five minute lecture about Why Minhyun Should Ask Dongho To The Ball.

 

“Hey…” Jonghyun’s shoulders dropped a little. “You don’t think I want the best for you? I mean, think about it - you’ve liked Dongho forever, and after the ball we only have a couple of months before we graduate and leave Hogwarts forever. I don’t want you to miss your chance and regret it, you know?”

 

“True…” After the ball was the winter break, then they’d be back for some revision and their N.E.W.T. exams. Then it would all be over. Minhyun couldn’t be that mad at Jonghyun for trying.

 

“You’re right though - Minki wanted me to talk to you.”

 

Maybe he could.

 

**~*~**

 

The problem with the idea of asking Dongho to the ball wasn’t just being rejected - it was that Dongho would  _ definitely _ be way too nice about turning Minhyun down, and Minhyun wasn’t sure he’d be able to deal with that. If Dongho just said something like ‘ew no’ maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, but…

 

“Hey.” Minhyun froze as Dongho bumped their elbows together - they’d been tasked with checking on the Starlight Mushrooms in the blackout greenhouse, as their Herbology professor insisted they were  _ such responsible boys _ . Minhyun was uncomfortable in that pitch-black greenhouse at the best of times, but being alone in the dark  _ with Dongho _ was somehow even worse. “You okay?”

“Yeah, of course. There’s nothing dangerous in this greenhouse, after all.” He laughed nervously, glancing around for the telltale glow that indicated where the mushrooms had been left to grow. It was warm in the greenhouse, for winter, and the air was thick with what Minhyun could only describe as  _ green _ . Like the plants had melted down and were blocking his throat, just to spite him.

“I mean...lately.” Dongho stayed close, so their arms continued to touch as they headed for the farthest corner of the greenhouse. A soft, blue-ish glow led the way. “You seem stressed out, kinda. And maybe I’m wrong but…” He let the back of his hand brush against Minhyun’s. Oh. “I dunno, from where I am it looks like Choi Minki is giving you a hard time.”

 

Oh.

 

“Ah, don’t mind Minki. We’re close, he’s just being dumb.”

Minhyun couldn’t see Dongho, and the light of the mushrooms was still quite distant, but he could sense the other boy relaxing, just a bit. “Well, if you’re sure. I just saw him throwing some paper planes at you in Potions the other day and I wasn’t sure if…”

“No!” He was a bit too loud. Hopefully he didn’t disturb the plants. “No, it’s  _ really _ fine. Just stupid friend stuff. Besides, if it was really serious, I wouldn’t hesitate to put him in detention.”

Dongho gave a low whistle. “Brutal, but fair. Alright.”

 

They were quiet after that, as they approached the Starlight Mushrooms. They were sensitive things, Professor Woo had said - growing best in total darkness, as quiet as can be and unsullied by human hands. The Hogwarts crop was looking healthy, glowing brightly in small clusters of soft blues and purples.

“Oh!” Minhyun whispered, nudging Dongho gently. “Look, there are pink ones in here!”

Sure enough, some of the mushrooms were glowing in cool shades of pink. Dongho gasped beside him.

“We should count the pink ones and let Professor Woo know how many there are…”

“Right - they’re meant to be rare!”

 

They both counted, Minhyun silently in his head and Dongho under his breath. Dongho whispering beside him - even just numbers - had Minhyun feeling very strange again. He concentrated hard on the mushrooms.  _ Four...five...six… _

 

There were more than twenty pink Starlight Mushrooms in the batch - something the professor would undoubtedly be pleased with. Making a mental note of the conditions of the other mushrooms ( _ larger than average for this stage of growth, glowing quite strongly - maybe the recent change in fertiliser brand has had some effect?)  _ to inform Professor Woo accordingly, Minhyun followed after Dongho to leave the blackout greenhouse and return to class.

 

“Magical plants are so cool...!” Dongho sighed wistfully, turning back to look at the mushrooms before they turned a corner and only their aura was left in view.

“And yet it was the fauna that eventually stole your heart.”

“Well, yeah. Herbology is neat, but Care of Magical Creatures has  _ dragons.  _ And  _ unicorns _ .” Ah, he’d always been excited about dragons and unicorns from the moment he found out they existed. Minhyun could almost imagine him working on one of the dragon reserves in China, one day. He wondered if Dongho ever thought about that as a career option. “...you know, that class is still really fun. I wish you were still taking it.”

Minhyun’s heart skipped a beat.  _ Oh _ . “Ah...well, it’s not a required qualification for being a Healer, and I had to stop all distractions from my essential studies - I had to drop Muggle Studies and the chorus, too.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah,” he couldn’t help but laugh a little bit. It did kind of suck. “It does. But if you get high N.E.W.T. grades, better hospitals will accept your applications for training. Might as well keep my options as open as possible, right?”

A pause. “...yeah. You’re right. I guess the Head Boy  _ should _ be setting a good example with grades and stuff, right?”

“I say that, but my friends call me a nerd.”

“Maybe. But a cool nerd.” Taking a sudden stride forwards and breaking the little bubble that Minhyun hadn’t even realised had set around them, Dongho pulled open the door of the greenhouse, sunlight streaming in and making both of them squint. “Come on,” Dongho grinned, and was he a little pink-cheeked? “Let’s get back to class.”

 

Minhyun let Dongho walk on ahead, feeling the flush in his cheeks. He needed help.

  
  


And so, in the dormitories that night with Germanotta curled up and snoozing in the small of his back, Minhyun wrote a letter.

 

_ Hey Aron, _

 

_ How are you? How’s the job going? Are your roommates still nice? Did you manage to get those Bundimuns out of the ceiling before they caused any damage? _

 

_ Maybe this is super dumb to you, since you’re a grown up in the real world with a real job and stuff, but I’m having a teeny tiny emotional crisis. _

 

_ So it’s about the N.E.W.T. Ball… _

 

**~*~**

 

_ The Head Boy, Head Girl, and all Sixth- and Seventh-Year prefects are required to attend a meeting in the Western Portrait Chamber after 5th Period today. This meeting is compulsory. _

 

“The ball is approaching!” Professor Choi clapped his hands together in delight, “You all must be very excited, yes?”

The group chorused a half-asleep  _ yes _ in response, Minhyun doing his best to stand up straight and sound enthusiastic. It was  _ cold _ in that room, and the last thing he wanted to think about was the ball considering his...problem.

“Wonderful! Well, as the Seventh Years among you will already be aware, the prefect team lead the very first dance of the ball. Isn’t that fun? I like to think it adds some glamour and prestige to what is otherwise a very utilitarian prefect system. Getting to dance in front of everyone - isn’t that great?”

 

It was Minhyun’s idea of hell, and he’d already survived it  _ last  _ year. This year would be even worse, as the Head Boy and Girl had to dance with their partners first, with the prefects joining them a little later. Being Head Boy sucked sometimes.

 

That, and last year Minki had taken pity on him and been his dance partner for the first dance. But this time around Minki was going with Jonghyun, so...Minhyun was kind of screwed. He fiddled with his cloak.

 

“There will be a dance lesson for you and your partners before the ball.” The professor went on. “And you’ll find a notice of when and where in your common rooms well in advance. It’s only fair to have everyone on the same footing for the big day, after all!” 

“But Professor,” one of the Slytherin girls raised a hand nervously, “What if we’re bad at dancing? Really, really bad?”

Minhyun cleared his throat and did his best to smile. “Don’t worry. When they chose the Head Boy this year they obviously didn’t take dancing skills into account.” The other students in the room began to chuckle, and Minhyun stepped back a little bit, satisfied that he’d played his part as the Fun and Approachable Head Boy for the time being. “Most important is enjoying yourself.” He definitely wasn’t going to enjoy himself.

 

“Very well said. Very well said indeed!” The professor beamed at Minhyun brightly and well, it may not have been house points, but Minhyun could admit to being enough of a nerd to enjoy being praised for the sake of it. “Well, with that, you may leave now, if you like. But if any of you have questions about wardrobe and such, I’ll be happy to answer.”

 

Having bought his dress robes forever ago, Minhyun politely took his leave before anyone around him attempted to ask who his date for the ball was going to be. Damn. He needed a solution before the dance lesson - the Head Boy couldn’t just... _ not dance _ . It was unheard of! No, Minhyun was going to have to find a solution somehow, but today was not that day. He just wanted to go back to Ravenclaw Tower and sulk.

  
  


...except when he got there, it appeared every single Puffskein owner in Ravenclaw house was gathered in the common room by the fire, grooming their pets and chattering away. And of course, with Minki around, the conversation would obviously be centred on exactly one thing.

 

“Did you hear Nayoungie is matching dresses with her date? How cute is that?!”

“Ahh, I wonder what Jonghyun’s dress robes are gonna be like…”

“Will we get to see all you guys before you go to the ball? Like in the common room?”

“Yeah, I don’t know what wizard formalwear even looks like!”

“Oh, then you’re in for a treat…”

 

“Oh, Minhyun!” One of the girls called out to Minhyun as he tried (and failed) to get to the dormitory staircase undetected. “How was the meeting?”

“Good. Great. I’m tired now, so I’m gonna take a nap.”

 

Minki pouted, holding up his Puffskein which hummed contentedly. “Don’t you wanna hang out with us? It’ll be-”

“Migraine.” Minhyun wasn’t one for telling lies, but he had to maintain his reputation as a friendly and always-approachable senior to his housemates, as well as the whole Head Boy thing. In between helpful  _ Episkey _ s on minor injuries that weren’t worth the trek to the Hospital Wing and dutifully dispensing study tips and other sage life advice to the younger students, Minhyun just...wanted to be a moody teenager and hide in his bed for a little while.

Minki’s expression softened into one of concern, something Minhyun didn’t often see from him. He stood up, holding Germanotta out to Minhyun.

“Take her with you, then. Maybe she’ll help you sleep.”

 

The Puffskein hummed a little louder when Minhyun took her from Minki’s arms. Maybe the background noise would be nice.

“Thanks. Come on, Germy. We’re taking a nap.”

“Don’t call her that.”

“But she likes it. Listen to how loud she’s humming. Come along now, Germs.”

Minki huffed, with nothing to really say as the overfed ball of fur now in Minhyun’s arms continued to hum. He headed back to the group of Ravenclaw students by the fireplace, but not without a last glance over his shoulder. “Be careful on your way up.”

“I will.”

 

Germy eventually settled on Minhyun’s pillow, next to his head, and Minhyun was grateful for the white noise as he reread the letter that his dopey owl, Optimus, managed to drop into his orange juice that morning.

 

_ Minhyun!!!!!!! _

 

_ Work at the Herald is going great - less coffee fetching and fact checking these days. I’ve been shadowing real actual reporters! And one of the writers let me read her article the other day because she wanted my opinion and not just a spellcheck. I’m excited! The roommate situation is still good, and we got the Bundimuns out… _

 

_... _

 

_...why don’t you just ask him to go with you? You’re gonna graduate soon and might never see him again. Wouldn’t you rather have taken the chance? I know it’s easy for me to say since I’m not at school anymore, but you know, Hogwarts already feels like forever ago. Even if he did turn you down it wouldn’t be the end of the world. _

 

_ Besides, maybe he’ll say yes? _

 

Minhyun couldn’t trust anyone anymore.

 

**~*~**

 

“December is upon us, class, and today’s the day I’ll be putting the decorations up in the Great Hall~! As my beloved and most trusted Seventh Years, I would love it if any of you could make time in your busy schedules to help out with the decorating after 5th Period today, so the hall is all done in time for dinner. Think of it as a nice way to practice your charmwork!” Professor Kim always wrapped up his Charms classes with a little announcement while the students put their things away. “I may not have any extra credit to offer you, but there  _ might _ be some sweets.”

“Damn.” Jonghyun whispered from a few rows behind. “Quidditch practice.”

“I have a meeting with Professor Choi about my Muggle Studies project, so I can’t go either.” Minki sighed, leaning into his boyfriend’s side.

Around Minhyun, students whispered and pondered and decided whether or not they would be helping out with the decorating later. And directly in front of him, Dongho looked thoughtful for a moment, before smiling.

Would he be there? Did Minhyun want to help if Dongho would be there?

Duh, of course Minhyun wanted to help. He was a helpful boy. And decorating the Great Hall could be pretty fun.

 

“Yo, Dongho!” Moonbok hurried to Dongho’s side as students began to file out of the classroom. Minhyun hung back. “Hyunwoo agreed to go to the ball with me!”

“Nice,” Dongho grinned widely, “it’s going to be great.”

“Have you…” Moonbok lowered his voice, “have you asked someone yet?”

A beat of pause. Neither of the boys seemed to have noticed Minhyun still putting his books away in his bag. “...nah. I’m probably going stag again this year.”   
The shorter boy seemed disappointed. “Oh...well, if you do go by yourself, you can always come and hang out with me and Hyunwoo.”

“Thanks, man.”

 

The pair continued to chatter on their way out of the door, but Minhyun didn’t follow. He couldn’t have done even if he wanted to, as Professor Kim was suddenly beside him, smiling patiently.

“Ah, Professor.”

“Hello, Minhyun.” Professor Kim was kind - as Minhyun’s head of house, he was probably one of Minhyun’s favourite teachers, and hadn’t been shy about openly recommending Minhyun for the Head Boy position this year. “I just wanted to know if you’re doing alright at the moment.”

  
_ By Merlin’s saggy left- _

Was Minhyun  _ that _ obvious?

“What makes you ask, Sir?”

Professor Kim was relaxed, leaning against the desks. “I was just thinking there are a lot of sources of stress for you right now - your all-important N.E.W.T.s, of course, and your duties, and I’m sure that taking to the dancefloor before any of your peers is more than a little worrying, even for someone who likes dancing.” Minhyun held his breath, in case the professor mentioned  _ any other things _ . Fortunately, he didn’t. “Yes, all this stress, and not enough distractions since you dropped your other classes and extracurriculars. I must say I miss having you in the chorus sometimes.”

 

Phew. Minhyun wasn’t completely transparent after all.

“I’m really fine, Sir. Stress in the right doses is important for success, I think. Being a Healer is only going to be more hectic than schoolwork ever was.”

“Hm…maybe so, but do take care of yourself. You smiled so much more in your younger years - perhaps we’ll get to see you smiling more at the ball?”

He groaned internally. The ball. Of course.

“Maybe.” He forced a polite little smile. “I must be going, though. Transfiguration is next so…”

“Of course.” Professor Kim lightly patted Minhyun’s shoulder. “You take care now.”

 

Minhyun spent the day thinking.

He thought all the way through Transfiguration class, over lunch, Potions class, and all his Study Hall periods. On one hand, he was still a little moody and wanted to sulk some more. But on the other hand, maybe helping out with the decorating would do him some good - after all, if Minhyun was good at anything, Charms was one of those things.

 

And that was how, when the school day came to an end, Minhyun found himself heading for the Great Hall, wand tucked into the pocket of his robes. He’d never actually seen the decoration process before - every year he’d head down to dinner one evening and suddenly the entire hall would be decked out in gorgeous, sparkling baubles and candles, with two glorious christmas trees at the very back of the room behind the staff table.

 

Sure enough, when he entered the hall, preparations were already being made. Not only Professor Kim, but a whole group of the staff were there as well as the volunteers from Minhyun’s Charms class. The magnificent trees, surely over ten feet tall, were already in place at the far end of the room, with chattering students levitating baubles and other sparkling objects into the branches.

A gramophone playing Christmas carols sat in the middle of the staff table beside a large bowl of squeaking, multicoloured Sugar Mice, while a singing Professor Kim applied some sort of frosting charm to the windows even though it hadn’t snowed yet.

 

“Oh, Minhyun! I’m so glad to see you.” He beamed, still humming away. “Here to have some fun?”

 

“Just here to make myself useful, Professor.” Minhyun smiled gently, tapping his fingers against his thigh to the rhythm of the music. “Got any grunt work?”

“Well, if you’re sure...I could use some help taking the usual candles down, and putting some more festive ones in their places. It’s quite repetitive, but makes all the difference! Poor Dongho is working on it alone right now.”

_ Ah _ .

“I’ll give him a hand, then. Two wands work much faster than one.”

 

Taking a deep breath, Minhyun made his way over to where Dongho was working with the candles. He watched for a while, as the other boy gently removed the regular, plain candles from the air, extinguished them, then took new candles from a large basket and with a swift wave of his wand, set them high above the tables of the hall. Dongho was smiling peacefully as he worked, and Minhyun almost didn’t want to bother him, instead just watching the candles above him change from whites and creams to reds, greens and golds.

 

Minhyun reached into the basket, just as Dongho reached back for another candle. The moment their hands brushed, they both tensed, but Dongho visibly relaxed again when he saw who had come to join him.

“You here to help me?”

Dongho was adorably frank, and Minhyun just nodded, removing his wand from his pocket and waving it a little bit.

“Maybe.”

“Cool. I’ll get the old candles down, and you put the new ones up. We’ll work faster that way.”

With another nod, Minhyun took out the first candle his hand rested on - a fat forest green one with spirals of gold glitter. “Any specific pattern to this?”

“Nope. Professor Kim just said to try and avoid having too many of the same colour together.”

 

They worked together quietly, Minhyun occasionally joining in with a few lines of whatever the gramophone was belting out across the room. Sometimes, when Dongho brought candles down faster than Minhyun could replace them, the other boy would take a new candle and set it in place himself.

Their hands brushed again. If Minhyun dared to let himself think of it as anything but an accident he was sure every candle in the Great Hall would erupt into flames.

Their work led them down the hall, further away from the larger groups of their classmates decorating the trees and past the quieter, more focused teachers setting Frosting Charms on the windows and conjuring wreaths of holly and pine cones. For something so public, it was bizarrely intimate.

 

“...last Hogwarts Christmas, huh?” Dongho suddenly spoke after contemplating the candle in his hands for longer than was probably necessary, quickly extinguishing it. “And now we get to see how it all works. I wondered if it might take away from the experience a bit, but it’s actually kinda fun.”

“Oh, I feel you. It really makes it feel like we’re adults, you know?”

Dongho laughed, the candle he was moving suddenly falling. He stilled its movements before it hit the ground and, with a gentle puff, extinguished it. “Yeah...I know. I mean, another couple of months and we’re not even schoolkids anymore.” He laughed again, but softer, and watched the smoke rising from the candle. “Say, uh...any progress on those applications? For hospitals?”

 

Oh.

Minhyun was surprised Dongho had even remembered something like that.

“I’ve got everything done except my N.E.W.T. grades now. Forms filled in, references from the professors written and signed off. As soon as our results come through I can send them out.”

“Organised.” Dongho quirked a brow. “Just like you.”

“How about you?” He didn’t think before he said it - was this natural conversation? With Kang Dongho? “Any plans for after exams, I mean?”

“I don’t really know everything that’s out there for me yet,” Dongho sighed, “there’s all the big stuff of course, but...there’s gotta be more jobs out there in the wizarding world that I’ve never even heard of, so all I know is I wanna work with magical creatures.” Minhyun nodded along. Of course - Dongho was muggleborn. There would be a vast number of jobs out there for him that he had no idea existed; things that were simple facts of life for Minhyun. “But hey, I’m optimistic! Professor Choi recommended starting somewhere small, but with a foot in the door. Something like one of the pet stores on Sorcerers’ Walk. It would be fun, still working with animals, and staying connected to the rest of the magic world. So it would be a good place to look first, right?”

 

Dongho had never really asked Minhyun’s opinion on something so...personal before. The hopeful smile on his face had Minhyun’s heart doing backflips.

“I think so. You know, if the hospital I want takes me on, I’d be working around Sorcerer’s Walk, too. Maybe we’d still be able to see each other easily.”

“That…” Dongho glanced up at the candles, pursing his lips together. “...that would be really cool.”

 

They worked in silence after that, methodically changing the candles as the rest of the Great Hall transformed around them. Soon enough, it was all ready for the holidays - Minhyun could already imagine the End-of-Term Feast, with the ceiling enchanted to look like the midnight sky and illusions of snow falling in gleaming white flakes. He was going to miss Hogwarts. He was going to miss-

 

“Oh, dear Head Boy! I have a little task for you~” Professor Kim called out suddenly, snapping Minhyun out of his reverie. “Could you place the star on top of that Christmas tree? I’ve put the other one on, but have suddenly come over rather faint. Would you assist me?”

Professor Kim looked  _ fine _ . Minhyun couldn’t help but grin, hiding it behind his hand, and made his way over to the trees.

The other students had done a fine job of decorating, and the two looming trees sparkled and shone in every colour. “Anything I can do to ease the burden, Professor.”

 

With the most elegant Levitation Charm he had ever performed, Minhyun carefully set the large, glistening star on the very top of the tree. The gramophone was drowned out by the students and teachers clapping, and Dongho applauded the loudest of all.

 

Minhyun had to do something.

 

**~*~**

 

It was cold on the way to the Owlery.

 

Wrapping his cloak tighter around himself, Minhyun continued to climb the many, many stairs up the tower to where the owls were kept. Optimus was too hyperactive to stay in the Ravenclaw dormitory, so every time Minhyun wanted to send a letter, he had to make the long trek to reach him. Stupid owl.

He clutched an envelope tightly to his chest. Addressed to Aron and filled with overemotional ramblings that Minhyun couldn’t even remember completely because the letter took several attempts to actually finish coherently. The envelope was slightly crumpled from him holding it so tightly, but that didn’t matter.

 

Chilly winds whirled around Minhyun’s ankles, and he mused for a moment that his cloak was a little short. He should buy a new one.

_...no, no he shouldn’t. He wouldn’t be wearing his uniform again after February. _

 

He hurried his steps.

 

He had no idea if Optimus would even be  _ in _ the Owlery, the owl having a tendency to fly around the grounds wherever and whenever he felt like. Still, if his own pet let him down, there were always school owls available. And they were less likely to drop their delivery into Aron’s breakfast.

 

Minhyun reached the top of the staircase and, with a shove, opened the door to the Owlery.

 

He saw the yellow-lined cloak of a Hufflepuff student, but had a sinking feeling that luck was not on his side and sure enough, Kang Dongho was right there, releasing a school owl from one of the windows. He hadn’t spoken to Dongho much since the day they decorated the Great Hall.

 

“Um.”

“Uh. Hi.” Was Minhyun’s intelligent response. “Mail?”

_ Of course he’s sending mail there’s literally no other reason for anyone to drag themselves all the way to the Owlery- _

 

“Yep.” Dongho brightened considerably and  _ oh no Minhyun was going to be stuck in conversation again he was too awkward for this _ “I actually forgot to pack my dress robes after Chuseok, so my mom sent them along for me. Just letting her know they got here safely.”

“Nice.”

“What’s yours?”

“Ah…” Minhyun quickly shoved the letter into the pocket of his cloak. “Just a message to a friend.”

“Right.”

 

It was awkwardly silent, save for little  _ hoo _ sounds and the scuffs as owls took off and landed. It was chilly, and the owls were slow. Minhyun kicked at the floor a little bit and looked around hoping for something to break the silence. An owl. A random bludger from Slytherin’s quidditch practice whizzing through the window. Anything.

 

Dongho did it himself. “I’ve never worn dress robes before, you know. I’m really excited to. We had no idea what we were looking for, so eventually Sangbin’s family came shopping with us to make sure we didn’t buy something wildly inappropriate.” He smiled then - a proper smile reaching his eyes and making Minhyun feel more than a bit warm. 

 

Minhyun tensed a little bit as Dongho moved over to be closer to him. “Cool. I’ve uh, worn dress robes a lot of times. But they were much plainer when I was a kid - never anything quite this...fancy.”

 

An owl swooped in through one of the windows and settled on the crossbeams.

 

“Hey...Minhyun?”

 

It was like everything paused, even the owls.

 

“Yeah?”

  
“Who are you going to the N.E.W.T. Ball with?”

  
  


A moment of silence.

 

“Nobody.”

“What?”

“Nobody.” Minhyun swallowed hard.  _ Cringe _ . “I’m...I’m not going with anyone.”

“Why not?” Dongho sounded incredulous and Minhyun kind of wanted the floor to eat him.

“Nobody asked me? And uh, I didn’t ask anybody, either.” He laughed nervously. “So uh, yeah. Not going with anyone.”

 

“Did you...did you have someone you wanted to ask? Or just…”

“Yeah.” He shouldn’t have said that. Whoops. “I wanted to. But I can’t.”

 

Turning away from the windows, the two boys began to watch the owls, side by side. Optimus wasn’t even here as a distraction in Minhyun’s time of need.

“But you  _ need _ a partner, don’t you? Like, for the first dance thing?”

“I do.” He laughed again, just feeling kind of pathetic. This was not how he’d wanted any discussion on the topic of the ball to go. “Which is another reason why I couldn’t ask...somebody. Who would say yes to that? Minki helped me out last year, but he’s going with his boyfriend this year and won’t want to leave his side for a second. I’m kind of screwed.”

 

“...I’d do it.”

 

If an owl hadn’t brushed against Minhyun’s arm with the tip of its wings, he would have assumed he had gone completely numb.

“What?”

“The first dance. I’d do it with you. I mean, I kind of suck, but we danced together a little last year and it was fun, right?”

Dongho was smiling at Minhyun and Minhyun had no idea what he was doing with his face, nor what he was  _ supposed _ to be doing with his face. Or any of the rest of him. His heart threatened to leap right out of his mouth and it honestly felt pretty gross.

 

“I- you. You’d. Actually do that? Be my dance partner?”

“Yeah.” Dongho leaned right in then, resting his head on Minhyun’s shoulder. “Though honestly, I’d prefer something more along the lines of..I dunno, your date?”

 

Minhyun must have fallen on the stairs on his way up to the Owlery and be in a dream right now, because there was  _ absolutely no way this was happening _ . “Uh?” How smart. What a Ravenclaw. Wow.

 

Dongho just stayed close, but didn’t say anything. Like he was waiting for Minhyun to say something.

 

Minhyun didn’t know what to say.

 

“That. That would be so great.”

“Yeah?” It wasn’t the most romantic thing in the world. In fact, it was super awkward and surrounded by noisy owls and the letter in Minhyun’s pocket kept making weird papery crunch noises, but that was all fine.

 

“Yeah.”

 

They stayed like that for a little while, watching the owls and leaning against each other.

 

“Didn’t you have a letter to send?”

Oh. Um. “I uh. I picked up the wrong one actually! Yeah, I addressed one of the envelopes wrong and I picked up the wrong one, so I need to take it back to the dormitory and fix it. Haha.” Minhyun was an awful liar.

If Dongho knew, he didn’t shame Minhyun for it, which was nice. “Cool. We can head down the stairs together, then.” He grinned. “You know, you’re gonna have to let me know when that dance lesson is, if I’m going to be your date.”

_ Date _ . Minhyun couldn’t believe it. From the deep pink tinge on Dongho’s cheeks, maybe he couldn’t, either.

 

At the bottom of the stairs, Dongho wrapped his arms around Minhyun in a tight hug and Minhyun may have temporarily forgotten how to breathe or speak or move or do anything except bask in the fact that Dongho was hugging him.

“I’ll let you know about the dance lesson in class tomorrow.” Minhyun murmured as Dongho squeezed him closer.

“See you there.”

 

Several hours after descending the many, many stairs from the Owlery, Minhyun still felt a little winded. He assured Minki that he was just wildly out of shape.

 

_ Date. _

 

**~*~**

 

The night of the N.E.W.T. Ball brought snow.

 

Minhyun, alone in the flower gardens, fiddled with the sleeves of his dress robes again, anxiously. Somehow in the layers of midnight blue velvet, he was simultaneously freezing and overheating.

Dongho was supposed to meet him here.

 

The ball was starting soon, and soon, they would have to dance in front of all of their peers  _ and _ the staff and Minhyun was already dying of shame. He was also a little excited, though. Dancing was awful, sure, but dancing with  _ Dongho _ was going to be much, much better.

 

“Minhyun?”

Oh. Dongho hurried over from somewhere among the rose bushes, and he looked  _ good _ . For a guy who had never worn dress robes before, he wore them well, and looked like every bit the wizarding gentleman. Minhyun had an intense urge to show him off to everyone he knew and suddenly felt excited for the dance after all.

“Hey.”

“You look…”

“Good.” They whispered at the same time. Minhyun hid behind his sleeves, but Dongho just laughed and reached to take Minhyun’s hands.

He stepped close. Minhyun wasn’t cold anymore.

 

“Minhyun, before we go in there…” Dongho muttered, glancing around before meeting Minhyun’s eyes, then letting his gaze drop, just a bit.

“Ah…”

 

Before Minhyun could react, Dongho was leaning in to press their mouths together gently. It was soft, only barely past chaste. But Minhyun felt like he’d had a whole bottle of Firewhiskey poured down his throat anyway, and wrapped his arms around Dongho to pull him closer.

From the Great Hall, they could hear the band beginning to warm up, and the snow began to fall harder. Surely the whole grounds would be blanketed in it by morning.

 

“Come on,” Minhyun could feel Dongho’s words on his own lips. “Let’s get inside. We’ll be dancing soon.”

“I wonder what everyone will say.”

 

(What  _ everyone _ had to say, Minhyun never did find out. But as he took to the dance floor holding Dongho’s hand in his own, he did hear Minki yelling over the entire audience  _ and  _ the instruments.  _ I’M SO PROUD OF YOU HWANG MINHYUN!!!!) _

 

(Minhyun was pretty proud of himself, too.)

**Author's Note:**

> merry christmas to the baekmin tag ♥


End file.
